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LS 7: The Nature and Purpose of Christian art: THE DAY OF THE DEAD FESTIVAL [Los Dias de Los Muertos] Introduction At first glance, Day of the Dead decorations, colored paper garlands, little skeletons performing daily tasks and sugar skulls inscribed with names remind visitors of Halloween. But Day of the Dead in Mexico represents a mixture of Christian devotion and Pre-Hispanic traditions and beliefs. As a result of this mixture, the celebration comes to life as a unique Mexican tradition including an altar and offerings dedicated to the deceased. More than 500 years ago, when the Spanish Conquistadors landed in what is now Mexico, they encountered natives practicing a ritual that seemed to mock death. It was a ritual the indigenous people had been practicing at least 3,000 years. A ritual the Spaniards would try unsuccessfully to eradicate. This ritual is known today as Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead. The ritual is celebrated in Mexico and certain parts of the United States. Although the ritual has since been merged with Catholic theology, it still maintains the basic principles of the Aztec ritual, as presented in the art of the festival. The Aztec component The festival fell on the ninth month of the Aztec Solar Calendar, approximately the beginning of August, and was celebrated for the entire month. Festivities were presided over by the goddess Mictecacihuatl. The goddess, known as "Lady of the Dead," was believed to have died at birth. During the pre-Hispanic era, ‘death’, as we understand it, did not exist. Death was seen, instead, as simply a transition, a voyage through time and space towards true life. This is quite a different concept than what is believed today, where people believe death symbolizes the end of the road. Unlike the Spaniards, who viewed death as the end of life, the natives viewed it as the continuation of life. Instead of fearing death, they embraced it. To them, life was a dream and only in death did they become truly awake. "The pre-Hispanic people honored duality as being dynamic," said Christina Gonzalez, senior lecturer on Hispanic issues at Arizona State University. "They didn't separate death from pain, wealth from poverty like they did in Western cultures." Daily life in ancient Mexico was so uncertain and difficult that death was expected at every turn. Death, in fact was revered, believed to be the ultimate experience of life, life's own reward, even welcomed as a better option when people are struggling for survival. The Mexican still views death as a transition of life, a normal stage in the circle of life on earth, a natural progression, not an ending. Writer Octavio Paz commented about his people's relationship with death saying, The Mexican is familiar with death, jokes about it, caresses it, sleeps with it, and celebrates it. It is one of his favorite playthings and his most steadfast love." In this tradition tradition, people die three deaths: The first death is when our bodies cease to function; when our hearts no longer beat of their own accord, when our gaze no longer has depth or weight, when the space we occupy slowly loses its meaning. The second death comes when the body is lowered into the ground, returned to mother earth, out of sight. The third death, the most definitive death, is when there is no one left alive to remember us. The Catholic component However, the Spaniards considered the ritual to be sacrilegious. They perceived the indigenous people to be barbaric and pagan. In their attempts to convert them to Catholicism, the Spaniards tried to kill the ritual, but like the old Aztec spirits, the ritual refused to die. From Samhain to All Souls Day to Halloween to the Day of the Dead To make the ritual more Christian, the Spaniards moved it so it coincided with All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day (Nov. 1 and 2), which is when it is celebrated today. In the eighth century, the church decreed November 1 as All Saints Day. Setting aside the day to honor the martyrs and saints was an attempt to replace the 2000-year tradition of the Celts and their Druid priests who combined harvest festivals and celebrated the new year on November 1. The Celtic dead were believed to have access to earth on Samhain, October 31st, when the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead relaxed. The Celts danced around huge bonfires, wearing animal heads and hides to confuse the spirits and burned crops and animals as offerings to the returning dead. Around the end of the first millennium, the church reinforced its attempt to cover the Celtic celebration by designating November 2 as All Souls' Day to honor the dead. All Souls' Day was celebrated with parades, big bonfires and the people dressed as saints, angels and devils. In the language of the day, All Saints Day and All Souls' Day were known as All-hallowsmas, and October 31 was "All Hallowed's Eve" or Hallow'e'en. When the Spaniards arrived in Mexico they encountered two-month celebrations honoring death, the fall harvest and the new year. For more than 500 years, the goddess Mictecacihuatl (Lady of the Dead) presided over Aztec harvest rituals using fires and incense, costumes of animal skins, images of their dead and offerings of ceramics, personal goods, flowers and foods, drink and flowers. While the church attempted to transform the joyous celebration to a suitably tragic image of death and a serious day of prayer focusing attention and reflection on the saints and martyrs. The people of Mexico did not fully adopt the early priests' ideas, and by keeping their familiar ceremonies, All Saint's Day and All Soul's Day evolved into the celebrations that today honour the dead with colour, candles, joy. As with moving the date of the original Aztec festivals, Mexicans also began to employ the religious imagery of their forced conversion to Christianity. Wanting to hold on to their celebration they used the Christian icons to appease the Spaniards and it seems to have worked to some degree. Originally the Christian symbology meant nothing to the Aztecs, but as time passed these religious icons became part of the celebration and the holiday became a mixture of Aztec traditions and Catholic imagery. THE DAY OF THE DEAD TODAY An important aspect of the holiday is the closure that it provides for families who have lost a loved one during the previous year. Without embalming, burial must take place within 24 hours of death. During this short period, the body is laid out in the coffin at home, surrounded by candles, flowers, family and friends. While the family and friends gather, and sit in vigil during the night, then return for another week to recite the rosary, there is often little time for acceptance or reality. Preparing for the return of the spirit each fall lets the family remember and honor their dead, and gives them a chance to heal. Some families prepare the Day of the Dead altar of offerings at the family grave site, lighting a candle for each dead one, remembering the names, and placing flowers or coronas (wreaths) at the cemetery. Many stay to visit, eat, drink and pray while they keep a vigil during the night. All night, throughout the cemetery there is a grand family reunion of huge extended families, alive and dead, as one by one, through stories, memories and dreams, the dead return. On this night, those who wait realize the importance of living to be well remembered, working to be well respected and loving to be well missed. Once the night has passed, and the spirits have returned to their world, the ones remaining known that for another year they have triumphed in the struggle of life and that the only way to celebrate death is to live with courage. They have faced death and have won, saying, "Look here, you old bald skull - you fleshless one - you didn't get me - I have survived to live again today." THE ART OF THE DAY OF THE DEAD festival [The Important Part] The purpose of the art The Mexican flatters and woos death, he sings to her, dances with her, lifts his glass to her, he laughs at her. Finally, he challenges her, and in the challenging, death loses her power to intimidate him Once he knows death intimately, death is no longer wrapped in a cloak of mystery or causes him to fear the darkness. Once the fear of death has been defeated, the clutch she has on the hearts and minds of the living is lessened once and for all. Death's morbid side is buried under music and remembrances, while skeletons laugh and dance and sing as Mexico celebrates life in its embrace of death. The representation of the mixture of Christian and Aztec beliefs through art Flowers, symbolizing the brevity of life, are massed and fashioned into garlands, wreaths and crosses to decorate the altar and the grave. The marigold is the most traditional flower of the season. In Aztec times it was called the cempasuchil, the flower of 400 lives. The fragrance of the cempasuchil leads the spirits home. Sometimes paths of the petals lead out of the cemetery and to the house to guide the spirits. A cross of marigold petals is formed on the floor so that as the spirit approaches the altar, he will step on the cross and expel his guilt. Saints as Skeletons – Further to the representation of the Catholic component as mentioned above, many Saints are represented in terms of Mexican folk magic. The image on the left is of “La Santisima Muerte”, a skeleton equivalent / version of the Virgin Mary - a female saint with awesome powers, in Mexican folklore. The Grim Reaper on the right, however, is not a traditional Mexican icon at all. The figure is dressed up in the clothes of a monk and is presented as a saint. Calaveras (skeletons): The hand crafted skeletons, Calaveras are funny and friendly rather than frightening or spooky. They represent the beloved dead ones, their occupations and hobbies. As they are placed on the altar, the delightful skeleton figures bring back fond memories and cause the grieving ones to smile. The figures with the smells of favourite foods, help the spirits find the right house. Three calaveras, which represent the Holy Trinity, are placed on the second level. Colourful tissue paper, papel picado, is cut into intricate designs and strung to flutter over around the altar. This custom comes from the Aztecs who used paper banners in rituals. The colours used represent: Black for the Prehispanic religions and land of the dead Purple from the Catholic calendar to signify pain, suffering, grief, mourning Pink for celebration White for purity and hope Yellow and Orange for the marigold, the sun, light Red representing for Christians, the blood of Jesus; and for the indigenous, the life blood of humans and animals. Specifically Aztec art in the festival (not needed in the exam, but for your own interest) The altar: The altar consists of offerings dedicated to the deceased. It includes four main elements of nature — earth, wind, water, and fire. Earth is represented by crop: The Mexicans believe the souls are fed by the aroma of food. Wind is represented by a moving object: Tissue paper is commonly used to represent wind. Water: is placed in a container for the soul to quench its thirst after the long journey to the altar. Fire is represented by a wax candle: Each lit candle represents a soul, and an extra one is placed for the forgotten soul. Four candles are placed on the top level to represent the cardinal directions. A candle is lit for each dead family member, and one extra so that no one is left out. The candles, which represent hope and faith, burn during the night, so that there is no darkness. Personal items of the spirits remembered, the child's toys, household saints, photos of those honoured are added to the altar, along with the tools and utensils used each day, serapes, guitars or drums, gourds for carrying water and cigars or cigarettes. Skulls: Today, people don wooden skull masks called calacas and dance in honor of their deceased relatives. The wooden skulls are also placed on altars that are dedicated to the dead. Sugar skulls, made with the names of the dead person on the forehead, are eaten by a relative or friend. The Aztecs and other Meso-American civilizations kept skulls as trophies and displayed them during the ritual. The skulls were used to symbolize death and rebirth. The skulls were used to honor the dead, whom the Aztecs and other Meso-American civilizations believed came back to visit during the month long ritual. IMPORTANT TASK: o o o As with the other five art objects, you should complete the relevant sheets in your ‘Nature and Purpose of Christian Art’ booklet. However, note that it is the art that explicitly merges Christian and Aztec beliefs (marigold cross, trinity calaveras, saints as skeletons) that must be mentioned. And being able to summarise how this merging of Christian and Aztec beliefs happened, and how this festival came about is also very important.